Magpie (comics)

Magpie
Magpie as drawn by John Byrne on the cover of Batman #401.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Man of Steel #3 (November 1986)
In-story information
Alter ego	Margaret Pye
Team affiliations	Black Lantern Corps

Magpie is a fictional super-villainess created by John Byrne, who first appeared in the miniseries, The Man of Steel.

She is notable for her outlandish 1980s style including a unique tri-hawk/mullet hairstyle (Although in Man of Steel #3, Superman reveals that her unique hairstyle is a wig, and she was actually a redhead) as well as an exotic, red and silver costume consisting of large sunglasses, earrings, long gloves, and fishnet stockings.

Fictional character biography

Magpie is a jewel thief who specifically targets jewels named after birds and then replaces them with booby trapped replicas.^[1] Her codename comes from the Magpie, who, in folklore is attracted to bright, shiny objects. Taking a job as a museum curator she is slowly driven mad surrounded by the beautiful things she so loves but can never own. She was notable in post-Crisis continuity as the first villain who was defeated by Superman and Batman working together, Superman having visited Gotham to 'apprehend' Batman before Batman's demonstration of his skills while tracking Magpie convinced Superman that Gotham needed someone like Batman to protect it.

Magpie disappears for a length of time until it is revealed that she is Poison Ivy's cellmate at Arkham Asylum.^[2]

Shortly thereafter, she is murdered by Tally Man II along with Orca, The Ventriloquist and Scarface, and KGBeast, villains working for The Penguin. Ultimately her death was part of a revenge scheme by the criminal known as the Great White Shark.^[3]

During the Blackest Night, Magpie is among the many deceased villains that receive a black power ring and become reanimated into a Black Lantern. She is seen slaughtering people in a grocery store. She also works closely with the reanimated Trigger Twins and King Snake.^[4]

In other media

Film

• In the Superman/Batman: Public Enemies animated movie, she was mentioned by Superman asking what happened to her. Batman states that she was dead and when asked if he was sure, sarcastically retorts, "Reasonably." Superman replied "Why is it that the good villains never die?" to which Batman replies "Clark, what the hell are good villains?"

References

1. ^ Randall, Barbara J. (w), Von Eeden, Trevor (a). "A Bird In The Hand..." Batman 401: 3 (November, 1986), DC Comics
2. ^ Arkham Asylum: Living Hell
3. ^ Batman: Face the Face
4. ^ Blackest Night: Batman #1 (2009)